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Friday, 30 September 2016

Guest interview: "We ran away from crocodiles!"

This time, brothers Quinn (6), Aiden (9) and Luca (7) tell me all about their trip to Crocodiles of the World in Oxfordshire, run by Shaun Fogget of the Channel 5 series The Croc Man.

What did you think
when your mum told you she was taking you to Crocodiles of the World?

Aiden: It was MYidea, actually. I went to my friend’s
birthday party there a couple of years ago, so I said to mum let’s all go there and she said yes!

Luca: [can’t hold back any longer!]: Me and Aiden were running so fast because there was a
crocodile coming near us! There were two of them!

Aiden: [annoyed with brother for jumping ahead] Can Itell
you the unexpected bit?

Yes, go ahead.

Aiden: Well, when I was in
the crocodile house we went to see the Siamese crocodiles, and we looked at
them and when we turned our back they jumped at us – both of them – and we ran away
because we were so scared!

But they couldn’t
actually get at you, could they?!

Quinn: No, the glass was
there.

But it was still scarey?

Aiden: Yes, and after that,
we went over to the saltwater crocodiles and we noticed their teeth and we were
like NOPE! So we ran away again.

Luca: One of them wasreally really hooooge. It was so hooooge.

Aiden: The biggest one was
about 15 foot.

So these crocodiles
can actually kill people in real life, right?

Aiden: Yes.They do something called a crocodile
death roll. They grab onto their prey or person and spin it around and drag
whatever they’ve got under water to drown it.

Luca [just to clarify]: And kill it.

Quinn: And then it’s gonna
die and die and die until it’s put to sleep.

Did you get to hold a
crocodile?

Aiden: No, just touch them. You CAN hold them but we weren’t there at
the right time.

Quinn: I stroked a baby
crocodile. It felt so weird. Kind of like really soft, and like a fish, but it
was a crocodile.

Luca: Yes, it was so
slimy. And when I was touching its tail, it tickled.

The
man told us that if you put your hand near a baby crocodile or you swim near a
baby crocodile, the mum or the dad keep chasing you and if it’s a Nile one it’s
gonna be really speedy.

Did you see them
being fed?

Aiden: Yeah. Dead birds.
Chicken.

Did you learn the
difference between a crocodile and an alligator?

Aiden: Yes, one of them has
a small snout, and the other one I think is a different colour. They had both
there. They had like a 100 crocodiles and alligators and caimans.

Luca: There were load and
loads and loads.

Did they have any
other types of animals there?

Luca: Yes, parrots and...and...and...what
else Aiden?

Quinn: Meerkats, and there
was a hole you can go through and there was glass...

Aiden: ...like a glass
dome...

Luca: ...and you put your
head up in it and everyone can see you and the meerkat come and they’re running
around your head.

What was your
favourite animal there?

Luca: Meerkat.

Aiden: Black caiman.

Quinn: Black caiman.

Aiden: Cause it’s camouflaged.

Quinn: Cause it looks so
awesome.

Aiden: Cause if I was a
crocodile I would probably BE a black
caiman.

Well maybe you’ll be
a black caiman in your next life!

Aiden [stops, looks at me]: Do we actually HAVE a next life?

I don’t know, but
some people believe we do.

Aiden: [making his mind up]: I think we do.

Would you like to
have a pet crocodile?

Aiden: No!

Luca and Quinn: Yes!

Luca: Can you even GET a pet crocodile?

Quinn:[getting excited]: We can put it into a cage and we need some meat for it.

Luca: And it needs water.
That would be MY BEST PET. And I’m
gonna have that crocodile. It gonna be MINE.

What name would you
give it?

Quinn: Nuke

Luca: No, Bobby.

Quinn: No,Duke.

Luca: Duke of Marlborough! [laughs]

Finally, what do you
give Crocodiles of the World out of 10?

Aiden: 10

Quinn: 100.

Luca: 159 out of 10.

Visit Crocodiles of the World's website here. They are holding their first CrocFest UK on Saturday 15th October 2016.

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Hello!

I'm Claire Potter, author of the Little Blighters books for parents and freelance writer for The Guardian. I am always on the look out for mini-adventures and (good) mischief I can get up to with my children. The quirkier, the better! I hope you find inspiration here for refreshingly different days out, and in, or just ideas to add a bit of quirkle to everyday life with your children.

Take a peek at my books ...

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"When you grow up and have children of your own, do please remember something important: A stodgy parent is no fun at all. What a child wants and deserves is a parent who is SPARKY." &nbsp (Roald Dahl)